This invention relates generally to a clip for fastening an article to a panel having a hole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,995 granted to Robert W. Ward et al May 7, 1991 discloses an adjustable clip that fastens an article, in this case a wiring harness, to a panel having a hole. The adjustable clip has a typical arrangement for attaching the clip to the panel using the hole that extends through the panel. This typical arrangement includes a rigid base and a self-expanding head that is attached to the base and that is insertable into the hole of the panel. The self-expanding head has a plurality of resilient, bowed legs with outer retention shoulders midway along their length. The resilient, bowed legs are collapsed as the self expanding head is pushed into the hole. When the outer retention shoulders pass through the hole, the resilient bowed legs expand outwardly and engage the back side of the panel trapping the panel between the retention shoulders of the resilient legs and the rigid base of the clip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,018 granted to Christopher J. Darr et al discloses a reversible clip that also fastens an article, such as a wiring harness to a panel having a hole. The reversible clip has another typical arrangement for attaching the clip to the panel using the hole that extends through the panel. This typical arrangement also includes a rigid base and a self-expanding head that is attached to the base and that is insertable into the hole of the panel. The self-expanding head has a plurality of resilient legs that slant outwardly toward the rigid base. The end portions of the resilient legs are collapsed inwardly as the self expanding head is pushed into the hole. When the collapsed end portions pass through the hole, the end portions of the resilient legs expand outwardly and the ends of the legs engage the back side of the panel trapping the panel between the ends of the legs and the rigid base of the clip.
Clips with typical arrangements of a base and a self-expanding head of the types described in the '995 and '018 patents have been used successfully for many years. However, clips with these typical types of arrangement are limited for use with panels within a small range of thicknesses. For instance, as a practical matter, a typical design using the arrangement shown in the '995 patent can be used with a panel having a thickness in a small range of panel thicknesses, for example a range of about 1 mm to about 3 mm. This limitation results in the necessity for tooling several different size clips for accommodating a large range of panel thicknesses. This is costly not only for manufacture but also for carrying a large inventory.